Well Run Brum: The running club supporting men's mental health
For most people who take up the sport, running is about far more than the act of putting one foot in front of the other. It generates happiness, fitness, confidence, ambition, a sense of freedom – the list goes on.
For people like Richard Loftus, running is a lifeline. Two years ago, Loftus was at the lowest he'd ever been, struggling deeply with his mental health and unable to even imagine himself running. Now, the 37-year-old from Southam, Warwickshire, is spearheading a game-changing running club that helps other men to care for their mental health and get their lives back on track.
This club is Well Run Brum, a Birmingham-based community that hosts free 5K runs in the city centre for men of all ages and abilities every fortnight. Having helped to inspire and reshape the lives of countless men in Birmingham already, Loftus will now take on this year's Great Birmingham Run to shine a brighter light on Well Run Brum and encourage more men to speak up about their mental health.
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Here's how it all started.
Running free from the struggles
'The tiny thing that unravels your world is the best way to describe the gradual decline in my mental health,' says Loftus, recalling the immobilising mental health crisis that had gradually 'crept up on him' two years ago. At the time, he remembers sobbing on the phone to the receptionist at his GP surgery – and telling them that he could no longer cope with life.
'I think that it was a series of things that led up to it,' he continues. 'Each thing sounds insignificant on its own, but together they built up into this unimaginable ball of tension and anxiety. By the time things had reached a crisis point, not only was I unable to articulate what was happening, but I also couldn't say how I'd got there.
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'There wasn't anything remarkable about the day that I called the GP. In fact, I felt completely unremarkable. I felt weak, exhausted and lost. I also felt embarrassed and ashamed.'
Well Run Brum
Thankfully, Loftus was able to visit his GP surgery for an appointment that same day. Here, he was diagnosed with stress, depression and anxiety and, for immediate relief, he was prescribed medication and signed off work.
After a few weeks of complete rest, Loftus felt well enough to join a gym and, for the first time, try to start running regularly.
'I found a freedom in running that silenced my mind,' reflects Loftus. 'Then, when I started running with other people, I found that this freedom enabled me to talk openly and honestly about what I was going through and how I was feeling.'
Making strides
According to Loftus, running regularly and learning to talk openly about his problems has transformed his mental health and made him 'a completely different person' – entirely for the better.
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As such, having felt the immense positive impact of running on his own life, Loftus decided to set up Well Run Brum to help other men take steps to improve their wellbeing.
'I really wanted to build a support network – a community', explains Loftus. 'I saw that it could serve a greater purpose, because it wasn't something that only I needed – and the statistics around men's mental health support that. One in four people experience mental health issues every year and men are far less likely to seek help than women.
'The Birmingham Suicide Prevention Strategy found that men accounted for 76% of suicides within the region,' continues Loftus. 'These deaths are preventable. Men are typically socialised in a manner that dissuades them from acknowledging or displaying vulnerability. From my own experience, I know that this can lead to those greater moments of crisis. That needs to change.'
Well Run Brum
As Loftus has recognised, we need to create more environments that encourage men to start communicating with each other and sharing their thoughts honestly, openly and without prejudice. Well Run Brum is one such environment.
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'It can feel like a weakness to admit that you're struggling, but it actually takes huge strength to start a conversation about what's on your mind,' he says. 'Just like running, taking that first step can be hard – but it does get easier. The more we do that, the less daunting it is.'
Well Run Brum hits the Great Birmingham Run
Well Run Brum enables men to run together in a relaxed, welcoming setting at a conversational pace. Before each fortnightly 5K, a guest speaker even helps to motivate runners by providing a talk related to fitness, health and wellbeing. So far, guest speakers have included Giant from the BBC's Gladiators, Paralympian Darren Harris and the Birmingham Royal Ballet's Kit Holder.
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'Since launching Well Run Brum, so many incredible men have taken the time to inspire us and stimulate conversation,' says Loftus, who now has an England Athletics Leadership in Running Fitness qualification and Mental Health First Aid Level 2 training under his belt. 'What I love about this concept is that somebody else is doing the talking first, because being able to start that conversation can be really overwhelming. You can take it in, join the conversation, listen to others or just be. There's no pressure. Hopefully, people will get something out of it either way.'
Well Run Brum
Loftus and four other members of Well Run Brum are now getting ready to lace up for the half marathon at the 2025 Great Birmingham Run on Sunday 4 May – and for some of them, it will be their first-ever 13.1-mile event.
'Running has truly changed my life,' says Johnathan Williams, who is one of the Well Run Brum runners taking on his inaugural half marathon on Sunday. 'I'm so proud to be a part of a men's mental health running club that's having a positive impact on so many other people's lives.'
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As for Loftus, he believes that the Great Birmingham Run – which will see around 16,000 people descend upon the city for a celebratory day of running – will be a chance to spark more conversations about men's mental health and prevent men from suffering in silence.
'Our minds are muscles, too,' he notes. 'If we put as much emphasis into training our mental fitness as we do our physical fitness, it would help everyone to better cope with the day-to-day stresses of life.'
Organised by Great Run, the 2025 Great Birmingham Run – which encompasses a 10K and half marathon – will take place on Sunday 4 May. You can find out more about Well Run Brum here and, if you need support, please contact the Samaritans.
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